A sign on the front door of Dempsey's alerts patrons that the locally owned restaurant has closed for good. / Trevor Hughes/The Coloradoan

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A longtime Old Town Fort Collins restaurant has closed, with its owners attributing their financial struggles in large part to what they say felt like near-constant construction on Mason Street and the railroad tracks.

Dempsey's closed after the weekend, and on Tuesday night Amy Christian was removing tables and other fixtures from inside the restaurant she owned with her husband for nearly seven years. The restaurant was on the corner of Mason and Oak streets.

"We had a few very fine years," she said. "More than a few."

What changed, Christian said, was the construction of the Mason Street corridor and the MAX rapid-transit project. Businesses along Mason Street have endured repeated road and intersection closures, and heavy equipment operation, for months. The BNSF Railway tracks were torn up and replaced, and the sidewalk along Dempsey's west side was also torn up and replaced.

"It just had a huge impact," Christian said, taking a break from cleaning out the space. "I've exhausted every penny that I had."

She added: "You put your heart and soul into something ... and hopefully people will appreciate it."

Christian said she's now unemployed for the first time in 30 years and looking for a job. She's not afraid of hard work, she said, and has lots of restaurant experience. Her husband has gotten a job at the Larimer County Jail.

A sign posted on the restaurant's front door thanks customers for their loyal patronage and remembers the marriage proposals, pregnancies and childhoods that have been shared there. Christian asks that customers stay in touch via email or Facebook.

"We truly appreciate the outpouring of affection and love from so many people in our final days and for almost seven years," the sign says. "We are sorry to let you down. I love you all."

MAX backers say the rapid-transit system positions the city for denser urban growth along the Mason Street corridor and will allow residents and commuters to move more easily north and south, helping to reduce congestion on College Avenue. The $86.7 million project is set for completion in May 2014. The railroad track improvements mean trains now pass through the city twice as fast, cutting traffic delays in half along the corridor.